SkullKast 173: Main Cause (Vol 40-1)

Walter

Walter

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Episode 173: Main Cause (Vol 40-1) (1h6m)
[Covering Episodes 351-353 of Berserk Volume 40] The trauma Casca endured at the eclipse manifests itself as horrifying phallic monsters, who attempt to stop Farnese and Schierke from coming closer to the main cause, atop the mountain on the horizon.

Episode Highlights
4:56—Volume 40's cover and posters
21:51—351: Forest of Thorny Cedars
37:26—352: Main Cause
50:35—353: Final Fragment

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Latest Minipod—#50: Sonia and Mediums
Walter and Aazealh talk about Sonia and more generally about mediums in Berserk. What did Miura have in mind for her character? How do her powers relate to the kind of magic Schierke practices? Why might she have eventually turned away from Griffith? We try to answer those questions and more.

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Great episode as always! I loved the discussion about the greyscale cover for Volume 40. At first, I didn't like it because of how different it is, but I have come around on it and would agree with Aazealh that it's one of my favorites. As you all point out, I think it does a perfect job of capturing how bleak Casca's dreamscape is. It's like her trauma has left her so barren that it Schierke and Farnese can't help but have some of their lifeforce (represented by color) drained from them. It's beautiful in a Gothic tradition.

I also agree with Grail that it's very cool to see the "greatest hits" of the series from Casca's perspective through the fragments in this sequence. A lot of her feelings about Guts and Griffith were perceptible to the audience, but it still provides new insight and centers her character's importance to the story to see things through her eyes.

I find the bit where Farnese "casts" Father Mozgus to be hilarious. It's just so funny and silly to me to see his giant head in contrast with the starkness of the scenery. Do you think Miura intended some levity there or is it just me as a reader?

And on the topic of Griffith's eye becoming visible through the shadow falcon's head, two reasons come to mind. The first is a callback to the Golden Age, when Griffith's glance pierces Minister Foss from across the hall. It's been established that his darting eyes burn into the viewer, so it would make sense that it's a detail Casca remembers, especially considering it's context with Femto and the Eclipse.

The second is that it's a contrast to Guts's eye. Griffith's right eye is visible in those two panels of the shadow falcon, which is the eye Guts loses. Casca could remember that detail as indicative of a way Griffith was asserting his dominance over Guts.
 
Sad to think this is the closest we got to Guts vs Griffith:

Screenshot-2026-09-08-145940.png
 
Masa said:
Sad to think this is the closest we got to Guts vs Griffith:
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I know what you mean, but it IS a pretty cool fight, even if it's all dream-powered.

BTW, in this episode I added backing music to the summaries (something I used to do, years ago). Since this sequence of episodes parallels the Eclipse, I added Murder from the 97 anime OST. Just curious: Did anyone like it or was it distracting? I think it's neat, but it might not be for everyone.
 
Walter said:
BTW, in this episode I added backing music to the summaries (something I used to do, years ago). Since this sequence of episodes parallels the Eclipse, I added Murder from the 97 anime OST. Just curious: Did anyone like it or was it distracting? I think it's neat, but it might not be for everyone.
Click to expand...
Personally thought it was great, and I hope it's something to stay. I usually follow the rereads with the volume in hand, but that wasn't possible this time, so I found the music helpful in visualizing the scenes in my head! I think using music from the Dreamcast game for Casca's awakening would be neat!
 
I was going to comment on the music to ask if anyone noticed it haha. I like it. Makes it feel like a story time podcast for the episode readings. It would be annoying if it was constant but it’s cool for the episode readings.
 
Walter said:
I know what you mean, but it IS a pretty cool fight, even if it's all dream-powered.
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For sure. Visually and conceptually it was badass. But like a lot of pre-Continuation subject matter, it's tinged with sadness because we'll never see these plot threads properly unfold.
 
Walter said:
BTW, in this episode I added backing music to the summaries (something I used to do, years ago). Since this sequence of episodes parallels the Eclipse, I added Murder from the 97 anime OST. Just curious: Did anyone like it or was it distracting? I think it's neat, but it might not be for everyone.
Click to expand...
The music itself wasn't distracting; on the contrary, it evoked emotions similar to those in Eclipse. What was distracting, however, were its noticeable fluctuations in volume. This was noticeable during the parts where Grail read the summary, and then during the parts with Aazealh.

BTW thank you guys for this SkullKast! It's been interesting to listen. It's sad to realize that there are only a couple of podcasts left before Volume 42.
 
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araiso said:
What was distracting, however, were its noticeable fluctuations in volume. This was noticeable during the parts where Grail read the summary, and then during the parts with Aazealh.
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Yep, mistake on my part. I should have added the music after I leveled the whole track. I’ll try to fix so future listeners don’t have that issue.
 
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